Northern Lights
Sometimes the sun, for reasons not fully understood, releases a massive burst of plasma. The effect, despite the sun being so distant, can manifest on Earth through increased solar radiation. This time, the impact was the spectacular appearance of the Northern Lights, visible much further south than usual. These photos are from last night in Seattle. It was my first time experiencing the lights. Jenny and I joined dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other observers on the beach near our home where we watched the lights shift in the sky. The changing colors were usually too subtle to perceive except as a sudden realization that things had changed, but occasionally, they could be seen actually moving, almost quickly. The colors in the photos are definitely brighter than what our eyes could see, but what we could see with just our eyes was very beautiful indeed.
